While, as will be understood from the following description, the present invention was developed for routing wire bundles through the barrier walls of an aircraft that separate one zone of aircraft from another, adjacent zone, this invention may also find utility in other environments.
The zones of an aircraft containing propulsion systems and equipment, such as auxiliary power units and engines, must be isolated from other zones of the aircraft. The purpose is to isolate zones containing equipment susceptible to initiating and/or maintaining a fire from other zones. Isolation is usually created by barrier walls, such as firewalls, shrouds, or bulkheads, that are designed to provide fire and hermetic protection between adjacent zones. In many instances, electrical connections must be made to the isolated equipment. This requires that an electrical path be created through the separating barrier wall. Current aircraft design practice dictates that fireproof and hermetically sealed electrical connectors be mounted on barrier walls when an electrical path through a barrier wall is required. The use of connectors preserves the fire and hermetic functions of the barrier walls. More specifically, the connectors maintain the barrier between a zone that is susceptible of initiating and/or maintaining a fire, i.e., a fire zone, from the adjacent zone.
The current use of electrical connectors on barrier walls has many disadvantages. First, electrical connectors degrade the integrity of electronic signals. Second, electrical connectors are expensive and contribute unnecessary weight to aircraft. As a result, aircraft payload capacity dishes. Third, the installation of electrical connectors in barrier walls is labor intensive and time consuming. Problems such as difficulty in correctly identifying wire bundles, establishing correct routing lengths and overcrowding of mounted connectors often arise. Moreover, the number and small size of the fasteners, i.e., nuts, bolts, and washers, required to mount connectors unduly delay installation.
The present invention is directed to overcoming the foregoing and other disadvantages. More specifically, the present invention is directed to providing a method and apparatus for routing a wire bundle and the like through a barrier wall such as the bulkhead of an aircraft in a manner that preserves the fireproof and hermetic functions of the wall without the use of electrical connectors and their attendant disadvantages.